Personal profile

Research interests

Stephen Emmitt is an architect with industrial experience of implementing effective design management. His research and teaching interests cover the interface between design and construction and collaborative working. He has published widely with 24 books and over 150 peer reviewed articles and is Editor-in-Chief of Building Research & Information

Biography

Stephen studied architecture at the University of Brighton and worked primarily as a design manager in architectural practices in Hampshire and Greater Manchester before taking up an academic position.

As a design manager he was responsible for introducing process innovations at the business and project level to improve efficiency and effectiveness. This practical experience underpins his research and teaching interests in collaborative working and improving the interface between the design and realisation phases.

Stephen’s passion for architecture and interest in innovation led to a part-time PhD at the University of Manchester School of Architecture where he applied the diffusion of innovations model to construction, focusing on the uptake of innovative materials and products by architects. It was his passion for research that resulted in a career change to a full-time academic position.

He was awarded his first chair in 2003 at the Technical University of Denmark (Hoffmann Professor of Innovation and Management in Building, 2003-2007) before moving back to the UK as Professor of Architectural Technology at Loughborough University and then to the University of Bath in May 2014. As Professor of Architectural Practice he is leading the new PhD by Practice, a part-time pathway for mid-career professionals to complete a practice-led PhD in their chosen field.

Research

Stephen has developed a comprehensive research portfolio and forged two unique research areas – architectural management and architectural technology. Since 1994 he has been an active member of the CIB’s Working Group W096 Architectural Management and was a joint-coordinator of the network for five years.

In 1996 he initiated and has subsequently managed the Detail Design in Architecture (DDiA) international network, which focus on the importance of the architectural detail.

He has secured and managed research grants in the UK (EPSRC, TSB) and Europe (Erabuild) which include subjects such as the space between organisations, collaborative design management, lean construction and the industrialisation of construction. He is the author of 24 books covering design management and architectural technology, three of which have been translated into Chinese. Stephen’s work has been presented as keynote addresses at more than 20 international conferences.

The impact of his work was recognised in 2010 with the award of the Loughborough University enterprise award for a knowledge transfer partnership that delivered significant process and productivity improvements for a SME. Recent successful PhD supervisions have addressed lean construction, value creation in design projects, architectural management and architectural briefing.

Willing to supervise PhD

Interested in supervising students studying:

Practice management

Design management

Collaborative working and BIM

Architectural detailing and specification

Innovation in process and product

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